The Chemistry Conundrum
by Mailie Wyrmseeker
Summary: My first fanfic for BBT. The possibilities for when couples begin worrying over how to define their relationship, especially when the holidays roll around. Mostly Shamy, also Lenny and Howadette. May include other pairings later... let me know what you think of my FC Mailie. Rating may change with time, but I tend to keep my stuff very clean. Reviews are most appreciated. :D
1. The Mistletoe Hypothesis

**The Mistletoe Hypothesis**

It was a cold winter's night in Pasadena, and Jack Frost teased the atmosphere with the rare chance at snowfall. Silver bells and gold tinsel adorned each light pole around the mall, and colored lights were strung across the rafters.

"It's magical!" Bernadette squeezed her shoulders together and giggled.

Amy smiled indulgently. "If by 'magical', you refer to the chemical reaction –"

"Yes, that's what she meant." Penny cut her off impatiently. "But the real magic will be when we find some mistletoe for the Shamy." She pulled Amy into a small florist shop, and inspected the ornament in the doorway.

"What makes you think Sheldon will ever follow social protocol for mistletoe?" Amy asked skeptically. "He has made certain exceptions; taking my hand… he even quoted Spider-man for me." She paused for good measure, letting a light, dreamy sigh escape her.

Penny resisted the instinct to smirk and roll her eyes, light-hearted as they may have been. Instead she moistened her lips to reply, "I had this plan… I thought maybe I would slip a little rum into his eggnog?" Amy gasped, but her bestie held up defensive hands. "Not very much, just enough to make him just barely tipsy?"

Bernadette had entered, and heard Penny's idea; she often had doubts on Penny's interference with Sheldon and Amy. Her bright face now clouded over with doubt and concern. "That's really not a good idea… wouldn't it be better to just let Amy continue her experiments? It's seemed to work well so far?"

"Normally I would side with you, bestie, but I think our third wheel is correct here." Bernadette didn't refrain from the instinct to roll her eyes at Amy's attempted compliment.

"But Christmas is right around the corner! It's that magical time of the year… don't you want magic in your life, Amy?" Amy paused to think, but Penny added, "And don't go over-thinking it. I just mean do you want that special holiday moment that couples are supposed to have?" Amy paused again, but for a different reason this time.

A girl stepped out from behind the counter, and raised a slightly shy hand. "Might I offer y'all a suggestion?"

The three women seemed a little startled by her sudden appearance. "Um, sure." Penny offered, noting the girl's name tag, "Mailie".

Mailie intertwined her fingers nervously. "Perhaps if you just hung the mistletoe, and let love take its own course? I know I don't know anything about your respective boyfriends, but your blonde friend seems to have doubts… which doubtless have quite valid grounding. It's just a suggestion, at any rate." She looked down quickly.

Bernadette put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Thank you for your vote of confidence, May – Mai – May-ly?"

"It's pronounced 'My-lee'." She returned with a good natured, albeit crooked, smile and shrug.

"While your suggestion is cute, sweetie…"

"No, it is a sound and reasonable idea. I must thank you for your kind suggestion." Amy beamed.

"Mailie Wyrmseeker, at your service." The girl replied with a giggle, gesturing gracefully in a bow.

"I take it that's your role-playing name?" Bernadette asked with a smirk.

"Well, yes rather… I prefer it to my real name, anyway." She scratched her temple shyly. "It was the name of my healer; I've grown very attached to it."

"I'm Bernadette, this is Amy and Penny. Amy's boyfriend is…"

"Wonderf-"

"A whack-a-doodle." Amy's expression didn't exactly deny Penny's definition of Sheldon. "'I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.'" She made a mock mimicking of Sheldon's common outburst.

"Sheldon is a brilliant theoretical physicist, and a wonderful boyfriend… he's just slow when it comes to physical contact progress."

"He hasn't kissed you yet?" Mailie ventured.

"He refuses to maturely talk about when he grabbed my hand when our friend launched into space."

"My Howie." Bernadette couldn't help but beam a little. She was worried constantly about her husband, but always sprung at the opportunity to brag about him. Mailie smiled at Bernadette, and looked back at Amy, her brows knitting together. Her mouth twisted about, as if to try and form words, but all that escaped her was a confused squeak.

"Exactly." Penny replied.

"However, I don't want to have him intoxicated. Bestie, you must promise that you won't put a Mickey in my boyfriend's eggnog." Amy extended a pinky.

"…fine. Pinky swear. No Mickeys." Amy raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to add, "I promise to not add alcohol to anything Sheldon consumes… except maybe to his girlfriend." Penny raised her own eyebrow and smirked. "Just saying. It might help." Amy looked doubtful, but chose to shrug off her final comments.

"Did you want to buy any mistletoe? Not to sound pushy, but even though I'm just a holiday temp my boss will kill me if I have no sales this afternoon."

"Yeah, that's not pushy at all." Penny rolled her eyes, causing Mailie to giggle. "Sure, we'll buy the mistletoe. If you want to run into Sheldon and see him for yourself, just go to the comic book store down the block from here on new comic book night." When she saw the confusion rise again in the girl's face, she added, "On Wednesday."

"Then I shall do a little research to put this mistletoe hypothesis into action." Amy beamed again.


	2. The Ilex Permeability

**Thank you for your kind reviews, I shall try to be more careful in my research regarding weather and such; I already did so regarding the scientific name of the mistletoe. ;)**

**And I am glad I was able to keep them in character, as writing OoC generally bothers me greatly; I hope to continue such a streak. :)**

* * *

**The Ilex Permeability**

Amy began to water her fledgling holly bush, waiting for the second hand to make the rounds to hit six o'clock. She only gave it a light sprinkling before turning to the door, to await the sound that she found rather comforting… though sometimes irksome.

*Knock, knock, knock* "Amy?" *Knock, knock, knock* "Amy?" *Knock, knock, knock* "Amy?"

The ceremony completed, she opened the door, ceramic watering can in hand. "Good evening, Sheldon."

Sheldon hesitated for a moment, gulping. Amy wasn't wearing her usual attire; her blouse and skirt were in no way revealing, but hugged her figure a little better, and did not have full sleeves… so as to very nearly reveal her pale, slightly hunched shoulders. However, as she was holding a watering can, he took to that. "…good evening, Amy. Have you decided to take up botany as a hobby?"

"I have decided to adopt a special house plant, yes." She replied, making her way back to the kitchen. "It's for an experiment."

"I see." He noted it was an _Aquifoliaceae ilex_. "Is this a continuation of attempting to kill 'Ricky'?"

Amy looked indignant. "Of course not. It's a sociological experiment on holiday traditions." She emptied the remaining contents of the flower can into the sink. "Ricky is continuing recovery from emphysema, but he has been awfully cranky of late. I have not had him here for a week, however, and I intend to keep it that way."

Sheldon nodded. "A wise decision, Amy Farrah Fowler."

Amy smiled. "Thank you. But to continue on my original train of thought –"

The theoretical physicist snickered. "Train of thought. I think I shall change my decision of going to the zoo and go to the train museum, instead."

"Next date night, tonight is my turn." She interjected smoothly.

He pressed his lips together in disappointment, but conceded with a slight bow of his head. "As for your experiment, how do you plan to proceed?"

"…what do you mean?" Amy asked slyly.

"…I mean, when and where will it take place? On who?" Sheldon was somewhat taken aback on her not promptly answering his question, but he thought that perhaps the rush of victory on her part concerning trains had temporarily clouded her mind.

"I would rather the subjects of the experiment not know, so as not to taint the results… and I know how you _hate_ to keep secrets." She stepped to the door. "I thought we would eat at Thai Palace and catch a movie? I am undecided on what movie to see, so perhaps we could discuss it over dinner."

* * *

Sheldon sat stiffly in "0,0,0,0", staring blankly into space. Slight twitches plagued his otherwise expressionless countenance. He remained like that for some time, but quickly turned his eyes towards his whiteboard as he heard Leonard walking out of the bathroom.

Leonard noted his repeated blinking as he walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, Sheldon."

Sheldon's eyes darted to his roommate, but switched back to his whiteboard just as swiftly. He replied just too quickly, "Good morning, Leonard."

"Did you only just get back home?"

"No! …I couldn't sleep. This equation has been irking me." The repeated blinking continued, in sets of seven. The corners of his eyes also twitched in the same manner.

"…I see." Leonard grabbed a box of cereal from the low fiber end. "So how'd your date night with Amy go last night?"

"Fine." The sets of seven seemed to enjoy their dance around Sheldon's blue eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His roommate asked pointblank.

"She has taken in a holly plant for an experiment, but wished the subjects to remain unknowing."

"…and?"

Sheldon's twitches had subsided, but he looked decidedly uncomfortable. "…but what if I'm the subject? I've been in so many of her experiments."

Leonard smirked. "So you're finally starting to pick up on this." He sat down with his cereal.

Sheldon eyed him guardedly. "Is that sarcasm?"

"No, I'm being serious. Sheldon, this is pretty big for you… unless you're wrong and I'm part of the experiment."

Sheldon scoffed at his suggestion. "You? Please. You're so predictable Leonard. Of course you would kiss Penny under the mistletoe…" He froze.

"I guess you didn't pick up on that part. Yes, I'm sure Amy would like to be kissed under the mistletoe, what girl wouldn't?"

"…but – but this means I – I'll have to k-kiss Amy!"

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sheldon. You're her boyfriend; it's perfectly normal – "

"Normal." Sheldon scoffed again. "We have a relationship of the mind – "

"Maybe for you, but not for Amy. And if you want to keep her, I suggest you seriously think about loosening up a bit. She's been very tolerant of you and your impossible habits," Sheldon glowered at him, "and you need to consider her needs and desires more."


	3. The Parental Catalyst

**My apologies, I was at a loss as to the tale's direction… but seriously, I did ****_not_** **see this coming.**

* * *

**The Parental Catalyst**

"I wasn't expecting you to call, Mother." Amy straightened in her chair, smiling politely at the computer screen.

"I know it's not the usual time, but I wanted to let you know about my plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas… perhaps New Years, as well."

"…I see." An uncomfortable sensation in Amy's stomach tipped her off to her mother's idea.

"Yes, I'm going to come stay with you for the holidays, and meet Sheldon in person." Darn, her stomach had not misled her. "I would like to see how your relationship is progressing, your _real_ relationship."

Amy and Sheldon's first introduction to Mrs. Fowler had been a ruse, leading her mother to believe that they were having regular, and very raucous coitus. "I apologize for my fibs regarding my physical relations once again, mother. I assure you that Sheldon and I are in a most pure relationship." Too pure, she thought silently.

"I still wish to see it for myself." Mrs. Fowler stated firmly. "Now, I know you have a one bedroom apartment, so I know that rearrangements will be in order. I trust everything will be ready for me in a week?"

Amy nearly spilt her glass of tepid water. "A week?!"

"Well I did buy my ticket some months ago, to save money." Her mother rationalized in a serious tone. "And Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away."

* * *

"…you want to come visit _me_?" Leonard couldn't believe his ears.

"Actually, I would like to see Sheldon again. He and I have so much in common, it's like he's my son."

"_I'm_ your son." He growled irritably.

"Yes, well, not in spirit." She replied drily. Leonard could practically feel that primly superior smile of hers through the phone. "I shall be arriving in two weeks, so I _hope_ that everything will be in order?"

"Yes, mother. Goodbye."

"…goodbye, Leonard." He hung up, lest she lead the conversation on to his relations with Penny. Sinking into his chair, he began to wonder what her real reason for visiting was. She had to have one.

* * *

"HOWAARD!"

Comrade Dimitri shook Howard's shoulder, waking him from what would have been a brief respite. "Hey, Froot Loops, your mother calls."

"Yeah, I know." Picking up the phone was a mere formality when it came to speaking to Mrs. Wolowitz, but he didn't want a shouting contest. "Hi Ma."

"ARE YOU GONNA BE BACK SOON? I WANT YOU HOME IN TIME FOR THANKSGIVING, I'M MAKING BRISKET!"

"Yes, I know, you make it every year." He mumbled, although the thought of his mother's brisket made him drool… he didn't know how much more space food he could stomach.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing, ma. Just tired." He shook himself.

"ARE YOU STAYING UP PAST YOUR BEDTIME?"

"I kinda have to, gotta finish my work. You want me home soon, right?" He raised his voice in annoyance.

"YEAH, BUT I DON'T WANT YOU COMING TO PIECES. YOU SOUND LIKE YOU WERE WOKEN UP RECENTLY."

"…that's because I WAS!"

"YOU SHOULD GO TAKE A NAP, YOU SOUND VERY TIRED." She continued as if he had said nothing. "GOODBYE, HOWARD."

It took a couple of attempts for him to place the receiver back on its hook, but he managed. He turned around to go back to strap himself back down, but Comrade Mike called, "Where do you think you're going? Toilet needs to be cleaned again." The two Russians chuckled, and Howard groaned. Reentry couldn't possibly come too soon.

* * *

Bernadette sniffed as she answered her phone. "Daddy! How nice of you to call. Howie's goinh – " She paused to blow her nose furiously. "will be home soon."

Her father thought better of mentioning that he wasn't really concerned about her pint-sized husband, but her obvious ailments caught his immediate attention. "Are you okay?"

She sneezed before replying, "Just ahergies… ah be fine." She rubbed her nose furiously with a tissue in an effort to clean up her speech. "He's comingh home tommowwo…" She started coughing.

"Just let me talk for now, Bernadette." He heard her cheek rub against the mouthpiece, so he continued, "I haven't cut out enough time of late for my little girl. I know you've been through a rough time, and aren't feeling well, so how about I come up to your hotel and bring you some soup?" He hadn't originally planned to visit her today, but as his baby was sick, all else could be put off for the moment.

"I would like dat." Her voice was becoming strongly nasal, and she felt like her sinuses might implode.

"Try not to talk anymore, and fill the sink with hot water to breathe. I'll be over soon, sweetheart." He had thoughts of having a more family oriented Christmas, although he dreaded the idea of having to deal with his daughter's vociferous mother-in-law. He decided to discuss this with Bernadette once she was feeling better.

* * *

Penny had just gotten home when she heard her phone ring. "Hi Sweetie, hope I didn't call at a bad time."

"Oh… hi, Mom. Nah, just got home from work. What's up?"

"We'd like you to come over for Thanksgiving, your brother should be on parole in time for it. We could have a holiday as a family for once."

She moved instinctively for her hidden supply of peppermint schnapps. "Gosh Mom, I really can't afford it…"

"Your father can send you gas money, and you can bring Leonard. I hope he's doing well?"

"Uh, he's fine. Look, I'd love too, but they asked me to work on Thanksgiving, and I really need the money. What about New Years?"

"Do you not want to come home, Penny?"

"It's not that…" She didn't want to have to deal with her brother, her mother's weight issues, or having to drive to Nebraska anytime soon, or any number of things that involved visiting, but how could she tell them that? "Leonard and I had special plans for Thanksgiving weekend with our friends… so how about New Years?"

"We'll be disappointed, but I suppose if you prefer Thanksgiving with your friends… I'll talk to your father about it. Goodbye, Penny."

Guilt-tripping, another thing on her list. She sighed after hanging up, and looked at her untouched glass of schnapps. She realized that despite her rebellious ways, she wasn't that much unlike her mother. Alcoholism… she should add that to her list. She silently poured the contents of the glass back into the bottle, and stowed it away. The first sign of recovery was recognizing your faults, right?

* * *

Raj set his glass of wine behind his laptop before answering it, and sat down to see his parents facing him. "Hello Mummy, Daddy."

"Hello, Rajesh. How have you been?"

His mother's unusually warm greeting warned him to engage his shields, but he felt like moping a little. "Well, Sheldon hired a grad student to do paperwork and stuff for him, and Leonard put me on the spot for not being able to talk to her."

Despite herself, Mrs. Koothrapali asked, "Is she Indian?"

"No Mummy. How come all girls I see have to be Indian?" He whined.

"You know how important it is to us –" His father began, but his mother silenced him with a glance.

The matter only temporarily distracted her. "Now, about your plans for New Years, we wanted to have you home this year, as a holiday." Her timing on wishing him to visit could have been significantly better, but it nonetheless received results.

"Only for New Years? I have a lot of work to do… I could only stay for a week or two." Raj resisted the urge to pick up his wine glass; he was happy his parents hadn't accused him of being drunk.

"That would be fine. We shall book the tickets, then."

Realizing that his mother had just snagged him into an agreement, he quickly added, "I'll buy the tickets, and I have to check my work schedule so that I come back in time to finish my projects." He would at least have some control in the matter, or so he thought.

"Very well, Rajesh." Mrs. Koothrapali feigned a look of resignation. After they had chatted for a few minutes longer, Raj closed the laptop and drained his glass worriedly.

* * *

"Hi, Shelly!" Mary Cooper beamed as her son answered the phone.

"It's two minutes past our scheduled call time. Now we only have 28 minutes." Sheldon pointed out.

"I'm sorry, Shelly. I'll call two minutes early next time." She stifled a giggle. "I wanted to ask you about y'alls holiday plans. And no, not a step by step recount." She corrected herself, not wishing to hear her son's full schedule. "Just tell me if you plan on going anywhere."

"Well, no. I didn't think of traveling. I was going to stay here, with my friends and Amy."

Mary smiled at how Sheldon separated Amy from his friends without thinking about it. "That's fine. How about if I come over there, then? I can probably only stay for Christmas…"

"…would you make spaghetti with little cut up hot dogs?" He asked hopefully.

"I thought Amy could make that for you, now." She was rather relieved that Sheldon couldn't see the corner of her mouth lift as she made that remark.

"Well… yes." He hesitated. "But I want you to cook something special for me."

"Oh, I will. Don't you worry about that, Shelly." She shook her head with a smile. "So, it's okay with you to visit for awhile? Missy's got plans to have Christmas dinner with her new boyfriend, and George just got put in jail for assault and DUI…" Mrs. Cooper sighed. "I would like to spend the holiday with my little physicist."


	4. The Female Cashier Experiment

**The Female Cashier Experiment**

"Oh. Hi, can I help you?" Stuart advanced quickly towards the girl walking in.

"Oh, I just came over here to meet some people for a 'comic book night'." She stared at her feet, but made an effort to make eye contact. "Um, are you hiring? I do need a job."

Stuart was taken aback by the question. "I have hardly any money as it is… but I don't know how much longer I can take Dale filling in for me." He scratched his head awkwardly, thinking of how a girl behind the counter could attract many more customers. "Do you have any comic book knowledge or experience?"

"Well, not very much, I didn't get to read comics growing up. I'd love to learn more, though, and I have a little retail experience… I just got laid off from a seasonal job at a florist's shop, and I've worked for Wal-greens, Gap Outlet, and I worked for Wendy's for quite some time." She set her shoulders back and slid her large glasses up her nose, trying to appear more professional.

Stuart offered her a stool to sit on. She was dressed very much like him, sneakers, jeans, and a nerdy t-shirt. Hers had the Deadpool logo, and his had the Avenger's logo. He wore an old Minecraft jacket, and she wore a Princess Leia hoodie. Their similarities caused Stuart to consider asking her out, but he decided against it. "…I don't have an application here, but if you can just give me your name and a little info down here, I guess." He handed her a small Spider-man themed notepad and an Angry Birds pen.

"Do I need to go by my real name?" She hesitated.

"No, if you prefer to be called something else… why?"

"…my family's last name is Culpa, from Italy. They thought it would be funny to name me Mia… So I made up the name Mailie Wyrmseeker, and have stuck to it. I always liked dragons, anyway." She shrugged, embarrassed.

"…wow. I'm so sorry, but yeah, it should be fine to go by Mailie." He smiled and scratched the nape of his neck nervously. "So you're hired, I guess."

"…I guess?" She repeated his last words anxiously, biting her bottom lip unconsciously.

"Nervous habit, sorry." Stuart quickly apologized. "You've got yourself a job." He hesitated a moment, but held out his hand.

Mailie reached forward and shook it, avoiding to look up from their hands as she felt her cheeks warm up. Looking up, she gestured towards his clothing. "So I don't have to dress up or wear a vest?"

He shook his head. "Nope, you look great as is."

She blushed and opened her mouth, but was thankful to hear the door open, as she felt she couldn't have replied coherently, anyway. She recognized Penny from the floral shop, and she was walking in with a short man. She took immediate note of his large glasses, of which she bore a fondness, and made a note in her mind of her approval of their obvious relationship.

"…you're kidding. My Mom called me right as I walked in the door from work. Bernadette texted me about her Dad, and Amy texted me about her Mom dropping in on her with only a week's notice. I dunno about you guys, but I seriously gotta wonder if our parents are ganging up on us." She gestured broadly towards the ceiling and added, "The stars have aligned, Leonard."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but not for us."

"Oh, hi sweetie." Penny waved to Mailie. "Glad you could make it to see comic book night."

The girl bowed slightly, and beamed. "I hope to see many comic book nights, Penny, as I've just been hired here."

"Good for you!" Penny exclaimed, before turning and eyeing Stuart, who turned around, pretending to take stock. "This is Leonard."

"Your boyfriend?"

"…we're in a beta test, but yeah." Leonard looked uncomfortable, but nodded to Penny's reply. "Don't over-think it, sweetie." She added, noticing Mailie's look of confusion. "Leonard, this is Mailie. We met her at the floral shop where Amy bought the mistletoe."

"Nice to meet you." Leonard extended his hand and shook the new comic book employee's hand. "Congrats on your new job here."

"Thank you."

They looked up to see a tall man with a boyish appearance listen tentatively to his girlfriend. "Sheldon, she should be fine with you. I'll try to make sure she'll be in an ideal state of mind when she arrives." This didn't seem to assure him very much, but the two corners of his lips lifted slightly and he nodded. "I would like to see the Flash comics you've spoken fondly of." She smiled sweetly, and Sheldon brightened, taking her hand without thinking and leading the way to his favorite superhero.

"The Shamy is adorable, isn't it?" Penny gushed quietly to Mailie, who nodded with a large smile. "Oh, you've got another customer coming in, better greet him." She prodded the girl towards the well dressed Indian man walking in.

Both froze, but Mailie took a breath and smiled. Upon not seeing her speak, Raj relaxed slightly; Mailie wondered if he was mute, or maybe deaf. She had a very limited knowledge of sign language, but she gestured if he was capable of speaking. Raj took this to mean she was deaf, so he sighed with relief and exclaimed, "Oh, you're deaf?" She didn't speak, so he waved and smiled.

Mailie wasn't sure how to take this, but she might as well be mute in front of this cutie. She simply waved back. After Raj exchanged a few pleasantries with his friends and her new boss, and left, she shook Penny's sleeve. "Penny, I feel so bad. I freeze up in front of really cute or handsome guys… well, unless they're taken or I know them well, of course."

"Oh don't worry about it. He's got selective mutism, too." Leonard replied, turning his head. "That means he can't talk around girls… period."

"Unless he thinks they're deaf." Penny added. "So you're really not that bad off, sweetie. Just work harder on your shyness. It's holding you back, jobs and relationship possibilities, especially."

Mailie took their words into account, and Stuart saw several new costumers walk in off the street that night. Perhaps her working there would allow him to turn a profit for the first time.


	5. The Preparation Correlation

**I was worried about maintaining stricter continuity with the actual show, and then it occurred to me… this is my story. I can just run with it as I like; especially since I've introduced a character not in the show, and have her working at the comic book store. The idea of conflicting characterizations of Amy's mother between here and when she eventually appears on the show does worry me, though. **

**I do apologize for the infrequency of my updates. :(**

* * *

**The Preparation Correlation**

Amy tried to console her boyfriend while he protested on her computer screen, "But… this conflicts with our date night."

"Yes, but she didn't tell me that her flight would get in tomorrow until last night. I thought that we could proceed as we intended, and that she would arrive on Friday, but that is no longer the case. I'm sorry, Sheldon. Perhaps next date night we could go to the train show and then visit the koalas?" She tried to mimic Sheldon's koala face, and succeeded in getting a small smile.

"Very well. But won't her visit be a terrible inconvenience for you?" Leonard's words echoed in Sheldon's mind, and he added, "Perhaps it would be advisable to have date night tonight, instead? I could help prepare your apartment for your mother."

Amy stiffened in surprise at Sheldon's consideration, and blinked several times, thinking she must've imagined his last comment. "I'm sorry, you broke up slightly, what did you say last?" A smile spread across her face as she realized that she hadn't heard her boyfriend's words wrong. "I would like that very much. 7 o'clock, then? I'll buy extra Yoo-hoo, as it may take awhile… and strawberry Quik?"

Sheldon visibly brightened, and bowed his head lightly. "That would be very pleasant. 7 o'clock will be fine." As they ended the call, he wondered at how he looked forward to the evening, despite it being a far cry from his strict routine.

"See?" Leonard had been watching from the hallway, and Penny had her arms around him, peeking over his shoulder to enjoy the little Shamy moment.

Sheldon shrugged and returned superiorly, "Yes, but I'm sure your idea is just as derivative as the rest of your work."

* * *

Stuart was sitting in the back room tallying his earnings over the past two weeks, and realized for the first time, he wasn't only scraping along. His profit margin was still slight, but he could look at his books and know he wouldn't have to beg his friends for cash. Of course, his living with Raj had helped things along tremendously, especially as the season was colder than most years. He wondered if his new assistant had the same luck he had come into over the past couple of months.

He walked back out, and saw her making final preparations to close the store for the night, and ensuring that the last few costumers were content with their findings. The phone rang before he could think of how to ask her about her holiday plans, and she answered, "Comic Center of Pasadena, Mailie Wyrmseeker at your service." He watched her as her smile brightened. "Oh, hello Amy. No, I don't know that much about Flash, but... well, we do have figurines and such, I could show you. Okay, but I won't be here tomorrow until 11am, I have babysit for my roommate while she goes to her doctor's appointment. Okay, goodbye Amy."

"Mailie, I was wondering…"

She looked up from setting the phone back on the receiver, and colored slightly. "Yes?"

"Well, seeing as how the store's profits are up considerably since you came here, it would only be suitable to reward you in some way." He fumbled for words. "Maybe, if you wanted, I could take you to dinner?" He couldn't believe what he'd just said... did he just ask her out? "I mean, not tonight, since it's late, and you have to get up early and all that with your roommate's baby… just sometime, when you have the chance? I don't know…"

The color had not only intensified, but spread across her cheeks quite fully, as well. "I… I'd like that very much, Stuart." She felt herself clamming up, so she changed the subject, "I wondered, if she doesn't make it back in time for me to come to work tomorrow morning…"

"If you have to, just stay home with Corinth, that's fine."

"…I was going to ask if it was okay to bring her in, and keep her occupied in the back room, she has a travel crib. She's usually very quiet." Mailie added quickly.

"No, you could keep her here behind the counter, just dress her warmly since the heater's not been doing so well." Stuart spoke from experience. "But no, I don't mind… it'd be kinda nice to meet her."

* * *

"Do you think your parents will actually be okay with coming over like that?" Howard looked doubtful, but tried to maintain a smile for his lovely wife.

"I don't know." Bernadette sighed. "What with your Mom's yelling and my Dad's… well, he's actually kinda scared of your Mom." She giggled, and took her husband's hand. "Howie, it'll be crazy, so wouldn't that make it nice to have a place of our own to retreat to?"

It was his turn to sigh, and he used his free hand to scratch off the excess dandruff. "Yeah, about that… I've kinda always been there for my Mom, and she's been nagging me about Dad leaving us so much more of late…"

She placed a hand firmly on his cheek and redirected his gaze into hers. "Howie. We are not going to live here forever. I just can't face the prospect." She took a deep breath, and let her eyes wander across the room. "I made an appointment to check out this really nice place, it's about halfway between your work and mine, and it's not that far from here. I mean, when we have kids, we'll have to have our own space, if not a house later on…"

"…wait." Howard took a double take on Bernadette, first her eyes, then down towards her stomach. "Are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?" Despite her previous reactions towards children, he couldn't help but remain hopeful that she would soften towards their own offspring.

She hesitated. "I… I don't know. I'm kinda scared to take the test, even though I bought one yesterday… all I do know is that I'm over a week late." She took his hand and gripped it worriedly. "Penny and Amy are already suspicious since I'm not lining up with Amy's menstra-teers thing… I bought the test, but they won't let up until I give them results. I wanted to talk to you first."

"Bernie, I love you. No matter how this turns out, we'll still have each other, right?" He kissed her gently. "Besides, if it reads negative, we can always try again…"

Bernadette laughed and kissed him back. "Yes, we could, couldn't we?"


	6. The Baby Bond

**(EDIT) The name seemed rather suitable. I also made a small change, since I realized that Mailie could only have been there for one comic book night so far rather than several.  
**

**I feel at a loss as to a name for this chapter at the moment, but I felt that I had to upload something… and I was going to try to keep up with events, but here we are, half-way through January, and they haven't even reached Thanksgiving quite yet… ^^;**

**My apologies. I hope to update soon, but can't make any promises. :(**

* * *

Mailie sighed as she walked in from the rain, and rubbed her eyes as she set down the travel crib, placing Corinth down in it. Her roommate hadn't really gone to a doctor's appointment, but Mailie was too embarrassed to admit the truth of her situation. She was thankful for the room and board provided by Caroline, but ashamed and disgusted by her tendency to party and neglect her child. She straightened her glasses as Stuart walked in from the back.

"Hi, you're here early… So this is Corinth?" He bent down to wave to the child, who waved back with bright eyes. "You're smart, aren't you?"

"She's brilliant." Mailie beamed. "She'll be 9 months old in 2 weeks, but she plays with shape toys meant at least for 3 year olds." She picked her up, laughing as Corinth reached for her nose.

"Maybe she'll end up being a genius… like Sheldon."

Mailie's lips contorted as she thought back on her initial night of employment. "Yes, but maybe a little more educated in practical matters." She giggled. "Sheldon seems quite nice, but rather tyrannical and egotistical at times. Of course, I haven't seen him on a daily basis."

"Don't tell Amy I said this, but you don't want to." Stuart smirked slightly, and looking up, added, "Looks like I said that just in time, too."

The comic shop had been agonizingly slow, and very few of the usuals had attempted to show up in such weather. Amy however, like Sheldon, had an obsession for timeliness. She shook her umbrella out methodically, and turned to face Mailie and Stuart, but paused upon seeing the child. She was struck by Corinth's bright green eyes, which sparkled with intelligence. "She looks to be brilliant… perhaps you'd be willing to let me perform some tests on her someday soon?"

"…tests?" The girl recoiled, wrapping a protective arm about the child. "I'm sorry, Amy, but I don't think that's a good idea right now."

Amy shrugged, disappointed. "Maybe later, I could hook her up and do an EEG…" She spaced out momentarily, lost in her daydream. "But I came to see about something special for Sheldon. His favorite is Flash."

"I noticed that straight away on my first night. He would probably have most everything for him, though… although we did get this special edition poster in the other night…"

* * *

Bernadette held up the pregnancy test, only one horizontal line making itself clear. Howard sighed, and wrapped his arms about his wife. "Maybe it'll read differently in a week?"

"…maybe."

"What's wrong, Bernie?" He could feel the tenseness in her body, that she was either unhappy or relieved… maybe even both.

"I don't get along with kids. They don't get along with me." She repeated twice, more quietly the second time, before continuing, "If I am pregnant, how am I going to deal with this? I can't hate my own child… but how am I going to like her if I can't even get along with kids? What am I going to do?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Well, if you are, and it seems like you must be… I meant about your tearing up, dear." He added as she shot him a suspicious glance. He made a mental note of treading very carefully around her, especially if her hormones were going to be fired off like the brute shot from Halo. "I think you'd be a great mom. You just need the understanding that comes between a mother and her own child, you know? Buck up, Bernie. Everything will turn out okay."

She had calmed down slightly, and smudged away a few tears with her wrist, cursing quietly as she noticed the mascara smeared across her hand. "I… I guess so. I hope so. I love you, Howie, and I'm sorry for being in such a mood. I'm just worried. I – I actually did two other tests…" Bernadette pulled away from him for a moment, and returned with two more sticks. She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and worry, and held them up; one read positive, and the other read negative.

"Never tell me the odds." Howard returned to her silent comment, smirking despite himself.

* * *

"So what do you want to do about your Mom?" Leonard asked, his arm about Penny as they lingered in bed.

"What do you want to do about yours?" She returned. "I really don't know… I suppose I have to see them for New Years or something, unless I want things getting ugly again."

"Again?" He twisted to look at her, confused.

"Basically, they said if I had stayed home and done what they wanted, then my brother wouldn't be a pothead, and they wouldn't have all these problems… I guess I can tell you later. I do need to get ready for work in another hour." She smiled wanly, but it faded as she asked, "Do you suppose your Mom's coming over to spy on us?"

"I wouldn't doubt it… I don't want to care, and yet I can't help but worry about it. She said she simply wanted to see Sheldon again, but she's always got something else on her agenda." He shuddered.

She squeezed him gently. "Looks like you're tense… and I do have an hour."

"Gosh, what could we possibly do in an hour?" Leonard smiled, and kissed her.


End file.
